Maurice Bridgestock is a Shadowhunter and an Inquisitor in the early 1900s.
Biography[]
Ari's engagement[]
At one point, when he and his wife had gotten too old to have their own child,[1] they decided to adopt an orphaned Shadowhunter child, Ari, from the Bombay Institute.
In 1901, their family was staying in London. During a walk, they ran into Gabriel and Cecily Lightwood and invited them to dinner at their home. Ari was introduced to their children Anna and Christopher. Though Bridgestock was supportive of Ari's decision to train with Anna, he was not aware of the budding romance between the pair. When Charles Fairchild, the Consul's son and Ari's betrothed who had recently been appointed to temporarily become the head of the Paris Institute, visited their home in London, Bridgestock warmly welcomed him.[2]
London quarantine[]
In August 1903, his daughter was attacked and fatally poisoned by a Khora demon. Ari seemed to be barely recovering, causing Maurice and his wife great distress. After the condition spread from one patient to a visitor, and the subsequent deaths of the two, Bridgestock explained the Clave's decision to quarantine the Shadowhunters within London and York to prevent the spread of the poison. Desperate for answers, the Inquisitor also demanded for the interrogation of all magic users in the city, though Will Herondale and other Enclave members objected to it.
His daughter's engagement to Charles had been going on for two years by this point when Charles suddenly broke it off; as Ari was in her unconscious state, Charles informed Maurice himself. Despite this, Maurice continued to work with him.
Ari eventually recovered when Christopher Lightwood was able to develop the antidote around a week after the attack. Grace Blackthorn—Charles's new fiancée and the daughter of Tatiana Blackthorn, whom they'd recently sentenced to a form of imprisonment at the Adamant Citadel—began living with them upon Ari's insistence.[3]
Mysterious murders[]
Maurice and his family were present at James Herondale and Cordelia Carstairs's wedding and reception party.
When Shadowhunters turned up dead each night, Maurice became concerned and tried to investigate. One night, he and his patrol found Thomas Lightwood standing over Lilian Highsmith, who had been murdered. Seeing her blood on his clothes, Maurice accused him of being the murderer until Alastair came to his defense.
Maurice was at the London Institute when the Prince of Hell, Leviathan, attacked, and worked with the Shadowhunters in their fight against the demon. After the demon was driven back to his realm, Maurice accused the Herondales of collaborating with demons.[4]
Accusations[]
Maurice informed the London Enclave of Belial's return after he ran into the demon at the Iron Tombs. After Tatiana Blackthorn crashed the annual Christmas party and revealed Tessa's blood lineage to Belial, Maurice accused the Herondales of working for the Prince of Hell to destroy Shadowhunters from the inside. The heated debate ultimately ended with the decision to have the Herondales, Fairchilds, and Lightwoods stand trial with the Mortal Sword. In the meantime, Maurice's daughter, Ariadne Bridgestock, found burnt papers that contained information about the actions of the Herondales, the Fairchilds and the Lightwoods, and another letter that suggested he was blackmailing someone into working with him. Ari and her friends ultimately realized he had been blackmailing Charles, threatening to expose his secret relationship with Alastair Carstairs.
While in Idris for the trial, Maurice stood firmly with his thoughts about the three families. Charles ultimately revealed that Maurice had been threatening him. With enough proof of blackmail, Maurice lost his position as Inquisitor and was banished to Wrangel Island to maintain the wards. His wife, Flora, decided to divorce him for her own freedom.[5]
Physical description[]
Maurice is described as a pigeon-chested man with a black handlebar mustache.[3]
Skills and abilities[]
- Nephilim physiology: Being Nephilim, Maurice Bridgestock possesses a myriad of enhanced physical and mental abilities granted to him by the blood of Raziel in his veins and also by the angelic Marks of the Gray Book. This includes enhanced strength, agility, stamina, coordination, and many others which improve over time and practice.
- Runic magic: Due to the angel Raziel's blood in their veins, all Shadowhunters are able to apply runes on their skin without any real danger. These Marks, in turn, give varied effects that serve to benefit the wearer.
- The Sight: As a Shadowhunter, Bridgestock is able to easily see through most magical illusions and layers of glamour over reality.
- Use of heavenly weapons: As a Nephilim, Bridgestock is also able to handle heavenly weapons with effect, since this would normally not work for other species. In particular, these are weapons made of adamas and forged by Iron Sisters, such as seraph blades.
Appearances[]
- Every Exquisite Thing (first appearance)
- Chain of Gold
- Chain of Iron
- Chain of Thorns
Trivia[]
- Maurice was against James Herondale and Matthew Fairchild becoming parabatai. He believed it would blight Matthew's bright future to be tied to James and that he should heed his advice for it may cause him harm in the end. Matthew, however, ignored him and went through with the ceremony anyway.[6]
References[]
- ↑ q&a tlh, cls, gostm Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ Every Exquisite Thing
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Chain of Gold
- ↑ Chain of Iron
- ↑ Chain of Thorns
- ↑ The City of Bones, a Chain of Gold extra